Biomechanical assessment system for shooting

ABSTRACT

An assessment system including a data acquisition module. The data acquisition module includes an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a processor. The accelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer are adapted to generate data corresponding an initial location or position of the data acquisition module before a firearm is discharged. The accelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer are adapted to generate data corresponding movement, a location, or a position of the data acquisition module during and after the firearm is discharged. The processor is adapted to correlate the data from the accelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer to movement, a location, or a position of the firearm before, during, and after the firearm is discharged.

FIELD

These teachings relate to an assessment system for firearms shooting.

BACKGROUND

A number of factors can affect a shooter's ability to hit a target witha firearm. For example, external factors such as wind, precipitation,and visual obstacles can interfere with and affect a shooter's abilityto hit a target with a firearm. Mechanical factors such as sightadjustment can also affect a shooter's ability to hit a target. Variouscontrol factors, such as the way a shooter breathes, his or herinvoluntary muscle movements, and/or the way the shooter handles thefirearm and/or pulls the trigger, can also affect a shooter's ability tohit a target.

In an attempt to improve shooting performance, assessment tools havebeen proposed for evaluating how a user handles the firearm and/or pullsthe trigger. As best understood, some of these assessment tools areadapted to track movement of the firearm before or during trigger pull.However, movement of the firearm after the trigger is pulled can alsoaffect the ability to hit a target. Moreover, some assessment tools areadapted to only display a single data point on an X-Y coordinate systemof the position of the firearm before or during trigger pull. However,adjusting a position or location of the firearm based on a single datapoint may not be precise, especially when a user wishes to adjust inonly one direction, such as only in a horizontal or lateral direction.Some of these assessment tools are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,151,564;US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2013/0071815A1 and2016/0033221A1; and in International Patent Publication No. WO2016/115554, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinfor all purposes.

Accordingly, it may be desirable to improve the current state of the artby providing an improved assessment system for firearms shooting. Forexample, it may be desirable to have an assessment system that isadapted to track and record movement of the firearm before, during, andafter the trigger is pulled. Such information may be useful to a shooterto understand how they manage recoil of the firearm, and how recoilmanagement affects their ability to handle the firearm and hit thetarget, for example. It may also be desirable to have an assessmentsystem that is adapted to display individual X and Y data pointscorresponding to the position of the firearm before, during, and afterthe trigger is pulled so that a shooter can fine tune their handling ofthe firearm in a specific horizontal and/or vertical direction.

SUMMARY

These teachings provide an improved assessment system for firearms.These teachings improve the current state of the art by providing anassessment system for shooting that is adapted to track and recordmovement of the firearm before, during, and after the trigger is pulled.Such information may be useful to a shooter to understand how theymanage recoil of the firearm, and how recoil management affects theirability to handle the firearm and hit the target, for example. Theseteachings also provide an assessment system that is adapted to displayindividual X and Y data points corresponding to the position of thefirearm before, during, and after a trigger pull so that a shooter canfine tune their handling of the firearm in a specific direction, forexample, in a horizontal or lateral direction.

The assessment system according to these teachings includes a recorder.The recorder is adapted to be removably installed on a firearm. Therecorder includes one or more sensors for detecting a position orlocation of the recorder and a processor for correlating the position orlocation of the recorder to a position or location of the firearm. Therecorder includes one or more sensors for detecting a change in theposition or location of the recorder, and a processor for correlatingthe change in the position or location of the recorder to a change in aposition or location of the firearm before, during, and after thefirearm is discharged. The recorder includes a processor for processingthe data from the one or more sensors. The processed data is transmittedto a display or user interface for viewing or evaluation by the shooter.The display may be part of the assessment system, or the display can bean ancillary component, such as, for example, a tablet or smart phone.The user may review the data displayed on the display or user interfaceand determine how their handling of the firearm before, during, or afterthe firearm is discharged affects their ability to hit a target. Fromthis data, the user may be able to modify or fine tune a variety offactors, such as, for example, the shooter's grip on the firearm, theshooter's breathing, the shooter's finger position on the trigger, thespeed at which the shooter pulls the trigger, the shooter's stanceand/or posture, or a combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary firearm and the assessmentsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the assessment system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/251,106 filed on Nov. 5, 2015 the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for allpurposes.

The explanations and illustrations presented herein are intended toacquaint others skilled in the art with the teachings, its principles,and its practical application. Those skilled in the art may adapt andapply the teachings in its numerous forms, as may be best suited to therequirements of a particular use. Accordingly, the specific embodimentsof the present teachings as set forth are not intended as beingexhaustive or limiting of the teachings. The scope of the teachingsshould, therefore, be determined not with reference to the abovedescription, but should instead be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. The disclosures of all articles and references,including patent applications and publications, are incorporated byreference for all purposes. Other combinations are also possible as willbe gleaned from the following claims, which are also hereby incorporatedby reference into this written description.

Assessment System.

The assessment system according to these teachings may function tomonitor, measure, detect, determine, record and/or assess datareflecting a position or location of a data acquisition module prior to,during, and after the trigger is pulled and the firearm is discharged.The assessment system may monitor, measure, detect, determine, recordand/or assess the exact movements of the data acquisition module before,during, and after the firearm is discharged. The movement, positionand/or location of the data acquisition module is then correlated tomovement, a position and/or location of the firearm prior to, during,and after the trigger is pulled and the firearm is discharged. This datais then displayed on a display for a shooter and/or coach to review.

Understanding the movement of the firearm and/or the location orposition of the firearm before, during, or after the firearm isdischarged can be advantageous to the shooter. For example, it is knownthat many factors can affect the shooter's ability to hit a target. Eventhe slightest movements before, during, or after the trigger is pulledcan affect the shooter's ability to hit the target. These movements canbe a function of a variety of factors, including the shooter's grip onthe firearm, the shooter's breathing, the shooter's finger position onthe trigger, the speed at which the shooter pulls the trigger, theshooter's stance and/or posture, or a combination thereof. Thesemovements can be difficult to detect by the shooter while shooting oreven a coach who is observing a shooter. Thus, advantageously, a usermay review the data provided by the assessment system, and use the datato their advantage to adjust a variety of factors to improve theirability to hit a target. Based on the acquired data, the assessmentsystem may also provide the user with suggestions to improve theirability to hit a target. From this data, the user may decide to, forexample, modify, adjust, or fine tune the shooter's grip on the firearm,the shooter's breathing, the shooter's finger position on the trigger,the speed at which the shooter pulls the trigger, the shooter's stanceand/or posture, or a combination thereof.

Firearm.

The assessment system may be used with a firearm. The firearm may be anyfirearm that is adapted to shoot or fire a projectile. For example, thefirearm may be a pistol, a hand gun, a rifle, or a shot gun. The firearmmay be an automatic firearm, a semi-automatic firearm, or a pumpfirearm. The firearm may be an airsoft or CO2-powered firearm. Thefirearm can be a bow-and-arrow. The firearm can be a cross-bow.

Data Acquisition Module.

The assessment system may include a data acquisition module. The dataacquisition module may function to monitor, measure, detect, determine,record and/or assess movement, a position and/or a location of themodule and thus the firearm before, during, and after the trigger ispulled. The data acquisition module may include a circuit board, one ormore sensors, a processor, memory, a power source, a communicationdevice, or a combination thereof. The data acquisition module maycomprise a housing containing these aforementioned components.

The data acquisition module may be attached to any portion of thefirearm. For example, the data acquisition module may be attached to thebarrel of the firearm. The data acquisition module can be mounted to anaccessory rail of the firearm. For example, the data acquisition modulecan be attached to the firearm by sliding the assessment system onto thebarrel or rail of the firearm, and then secured thereto with a fastener,such as a set screw, for example. It is also envisioned that the dataacquisition module can be mounted to the trigger guard, magazine, thebarrel, and/or the stock.

Magnetometer.

The data acquisition module may include one or more magnetometers. Themagnetometer may function to detect an orientation of the dataacquisition module, and thus an orientation of the firearm, the trigger,and/or the barrel relative to a known location before, during, and afterthe firearm is discharged. For example, the magnetometer may act as acompass and determine an absolute orientation of the data acquisitionmodule and the firearm in a north-south-east-west coordinate system. Themagnetometer may function to assist in calibrating the data acquisitionmodule and determining an initial position or location of the dataacquisition module relative to the ground, for example. The magnetometermay protect against orientation drift. The magnetometer may be a 3-axismagnetometer.

Accelerometer.

The data acquisition module may include one or more accelerometers. Theaccelerometer may function to measure acceleration of the dataacquisition module, and thus the firearm before, during, and after thefirearm is discharged. The accelerometer may function to measure changesin velocity and/or position of the data acquisition module, the firearm,or both. The accelerometer may function to determine when the firearmhas been discharged. The accelerometer may be used to determinemovements of the data acquisition module, and thus the firearm. Forexample, the accelerometer may be adapted to understand when the firearmhas been discharged by requiring a threshold velocity and/or position tobe detected before the velocity and/or position of the recorder ismeasurements are recorded with the accelerometer. This threshold may beselected so as to be greater than the forces expected from normalhandling of the firearm, such as disengaging the safety.

Gyrscope.

The data acquisition module may include one or more gyroscopes. Thegyroscope may function to measure and determine changes in orientationof the data acquisition module and thus the firearm before, during, andafter the firearm is discharged. The gyroscope may function to determinechanges in the rotational velocity of the data acquisition module andthus the firearm. The gyroscope may function to determine angular ratesof rotation about the pitch (x), roll (y), and yaw (z) axes of the dataacquisition module and thus the firearm. The gyroscope may be a 3-axisgyroscope.

Processor.

The data acquisition module may include a processor. The processor mayfunction to receive, read, process, assess, interpret and/or computedata acquired by one or more of the magnetometer, accelerometer, and/orgyroscope. The processor may correlate the data from the magnetometer,accelerometer, and/or gyroscope to a position, location, and or movementof the firearm before, during, and after the firearm is discharged. Theprocessor may compute an exact X position and an exact Y position of thefirearm before, during, and after the firearm is discharged. Therefore,for each discharge of the firearm, the processor may understand six datapoints (i.e., X and Y position of firearm before, during, and afterdischarge). The processor may include one or more algorithms,mathematical equations, and/or a look-up table for correlating the datato movement of the firearm. The processor may be a computer, aprocessor, a microprocessor, or a combination thereof. The processor mayinclude memory for storing the data from the magnetometer,accelerometer, and/or gyroscope. The processor may be located in thedata acquisition module, or the processor may be part of the display.

Memory.

The data acquisition module may include memory. The memory may be usedto store collected data from the magnetometer, accelerometer, and/orgyroscope. The memory may be used to store data to establish movement,location, and/or position trends.

Communication Device.

The data acquisition module may include a communication device. Thecommunication device may function to transmit or send data collectedand/or processed by the data acquisition module or processor to adisplay. The communication device may be a wired or wireless device. Forexample, the communication device may be a USB connection. For example,the communication device may be a communication protocol such asBluetooth, WIFI, 802.11, CDMA, GSM or other cellular or wirelesscommunication.

Display.

The data from the data acquisition module may be transmitted orcommunicational by the data acquisition module to a display. The displaymay be part of the system, or the display can be an ancillary componentsupplied by the user such as a computer, tablet, screen, smartphone, orcellular phone. The display may be an app running on a tablet orcomputer that is adapted to interpret and compute the data from the dataacquisition module and display the results on the display. The displaymay display the position, location, and/or movement of the firearmbefore, during, and/or after the firearm is discharged. The display maydisplay the exact X position and the exact Y position of the firearmcollected by the magnetometer, gyroscope and/or accelerometer before,during, and after the firearm is discharged each time. Therefore, foreach time the firearm is discharged, the data displayed on the displayincludes the exact X position and the exact Y position of the firearmbefore, during, and after the firearm is discharged so that at least sixdata points are displayed on the display.

Power Source.

The data acquisition module may include a power source. The power sourcemay function to power the data acquisition module, the processor, thememory, the communication device, the magnetometer, the gyroscope, theaccelerometer, or any other component of the data acquisition module.The power source may be a rechargeable DC power source. For example, thepower source may be a lithium rechargeable battery.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary firearm 10 and assessment system 12. Theassessment system 12 comprises a data acquisition module 14. The dataacquisition module 14 is attached to the rail 16 of the firearm 10. Thedata acquisition module 14 comprises a button 18 for calibrating thedata acquisition module 14 and for establishing an initial position orlocation of the data acquisition module 14 relative to the ground. Aswill be discussed with reference to FIG. 2, data collected by dataacquisition module 14 is transmitted via a signal 20 to a display 22.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the assessment system 12. The dataacquisition module 14 comprises a magnetometer 24, an accelerometer 26,and a gyroscope 28. Data from the magnetometer 24, an accelerometer 26,and a gyroscope 28 is transmitted to a processor 30 for determiningmovement, a position and/or location of the firearm 10 before, during,and after the trigger of the firearm 10 is pulled and the firearm 10discharged. Data from the processor 30 is provided to a communicationdevice 32 for transmitting the data via the signal 20 to the display 22.

Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, the data acquisition module 14 can beattached to the firearm 10. A position or location of the dataacquisition module 14 can be determined by calibrating the dataacquisition module 14. This may be accomplished by pressing button 18.The location of the data acquisition module 14 can be stored in thememory. After a position or location of the data acquisition module 14is determined and recorded, as the shooter aims the firearm 10,movements and/or changes in the position or location of the dataacquisition module 14 is determined with the magnetometer 24, anaccelerometer 26, and a gyroscope 28. These movements, the position orlocation changes are recorded in the memory. Movements and/or theposition or location of the data acquisition module 14 is also measuredand recorded during and after the firearm 10 is discharged. This data isalso stored in the memory. All of the data is then communicated to theprocessor 30 for correlating the initial position of the dataacquisition module 14 and the movements and changes in the location orposition of the data acquisition module 14 before, during, and after thetrigger is pulled to the movements, the position or location of thefirearm 10 before, during, or after the trigger is pulled. Thedetermined positions of the firearm 10 before, during, and after thedischarge can be communicated to the display 22 with the communicationdevice 32.

The shooter may then review the data displayed on the display 22 andunderstand how movements of the firearm 10 before, during, or after thefirearm 10 is discharged affects their ability to hit a target. Theshooter may then choose to modify, adjust, or fine tune their grip onthe firearm, their breathing, finger position on the trigger, the speedat which the trigger is pulled, their stance and/or posture, or acombination thereof to improve their ability to hit the target. Theshooter can continue to use the assessment system 10 to determine howchanges in their grip on the firearm, their breathing, finger positionon the trigger, the speed at which the trigger is pulled, their stanceand/or posture, or a combination affects their ability to hit thetarget.

The disclosures of all articles and references, including patentapplications and publications, are incorporated by reference for allpurposes. The term “consisting essentially of” to describe a combinationshall include the elements, ingredients, components or steps identified,and such other elements ingredients, components or steps that do notmaterially affect the basic and novel characteristics of thecombination. The use of the terms “comprising” or “including” todescribe combinations of elements, ingredients, components or stepsherein also contemplates embodiments that consist essentially of theelements, ingredients, components or steps.

Plural elements, ingredients, components or steps can be provided by asingle integrated element, ingredient, component or step. Alternatively,a single integrated element, ingredient, component or step might bedivided into separate plural elements, ingredients, components or steps.The disclosure of “a” or “one” to describe an element, ingredient,component or step is not intended to foreclose additional elements,ingredients, components or steps.

It is understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments as well as manyapplications besides the examples provided will be apparent to those ofskill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of theteachings should, therefore, be determined not with reference to theabove description, but should instead be determined with reference tothe appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to whichsuch claims are entitled. The disclosures of all articles andreferences, including patent applications and publications, areincorporated by reference for all purposes. The omission in thefollowing claims of any aspect of subject matter that is disclosedherein is not a disclaimer of such subject matter, nor should it beregarded that the inventors did not consider such subject matter to bepart of the disclosed inventive subject matter.

1) An assessment system comprising: a data acquisition module comprisingan accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a processor, whereinthe accelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer are adapted togenerate data corresponding an initial location or position of the dataacquisition module before a firearm is discharged, wherein theaccelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer are adapted togenerate data corresponding movement, a location, or a position of thedata acquisition module during and after the firearm is discharged,wherein the processor is adapted to correlate the data from theaccelerometer, the gyroscope, and the magnetometer to movement, alocation, or a position of the firearm before, during, and after thefirearm is discharged. 2) The assessment system according to claim 1,wherein the data acquisition module is attached to a rail of thefirearm. 3) The assessment system according to claim 1, wherein themovement, the location, or the position of the firearm before, during,and after the firearm is discharged is communicated from the dataacquisition module to a display for viewing by a shooter. 4) Theassessment system according to claim 3, wherein the data is communicatedfrom the data acquisition module to the display wirelessly. 5) Theassessment system according to claim 3, wherein the display shows theshooter the individual X position and the individual Y position of thefirearm before, during, and after the firearm is discharged each time.6) The assessment system according to claim 5, wherein the dataacquisition module collects data each time the firearm is discharged,the data collected includes the exact X position and the exact Yposition of the firearm before, during, and after the firearm isdischarged, and wherein a total of six data points are displayed on thedisplay for each discharge of the firearm. 7) The assessment systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the firearm is a hand gun. 8) A method ofaccessing a shooter's ability to hit a target, the method comprising:attaching a data acquisition module to a firearm; calibrating the dataacquisition module to establish a position and location of the dataacquisition module, collecting data with the data acquisition module ofthe position and the location of the data acquisition module before thefirearm is discharged, discharging the firearm, collecting data with thedata acquisition module of the position and the location of the dataacquisition module during and after the firearm is discharged,processing the data with a processor of the acquisition module; andcommunicating the data to a display; wherein six data points aredisplayed on the display for each discharge of the firearm, the datapoints correspond to an exact X location and Y location of the firearmbefore, during, and after discharge of the firearm. 9) The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein the data acquisition module comprises agyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, the processor, and acommunication device for communicating the data to the display. 10) Themethod according to claim 9, wherein the attaching step includesattaching the data acquisition module to a rail of a firearm. 11) Anassessment system comprising: a data acquisition module connected to afirearm, wherein the data acquisition module is adapted to generate datacorresponding an initial location or position of the data acquisitionmodule before a firearm is discharged, wherein the data acquisitionmodule is adapted to generate data corresponding movement, a location,or a position of the data acquisition module during and after thefirearm is discharged, wherein a processor in the data acquisitionmodule is adapted to correlate the data from the data acquisition moduleto movement, a location, or a position of the firearm before, during,and after the firearm is discharged, and wherein the data acquisitionmodule communicates the movement, the location, and/or the position ofthe firearm before, during, and after the firearm is discharged to adisplay, and wherein six data points are displayed on the display foreach discharge of the firearm, the data points correspond to an exact Xlocation and Y location of the firearm before, during, and afterdischarge of the firearm. 12) The assessment system according to claim11, wherein the data acquisition module comprises one or moregyroscopes, one or more accelerometer, and one or more magnetometers.13) The assessment system according to claim 12, wherein the movement,the location, and/or the position of the firearm before, during, andafter the firearm is discharged is communicated via Bluetooth to thedisplay. 14) The assessment system according to claim 12, wherein thedata acquisition module is connected to a rail of the firearm, andwherein the firearm is a hand gun or a rifle. 15) The assessment systemaccording to claim 12, wherein the data acquisition module comprises arechargeable battery.